About

Nozawa Onsen. Early evening. Steam rises from the surface of an onsen. A visiting hiker, muscles tired from a day of exploring, slides into the piping-hot water, closing his eyes in relief and melting into the spirit of the mountains. Morning. A skier pauses from her first tracks on a long ridge run to look down at the village below, breathing crystal-fresh air as she sees the village down below, compact and welcoming in a carpet of white.